There have always been cyclists on the A591. But during the lockdown we saw more cyclists flying past our garden wall than ever before. They’d travel either singly or in twos – the twos we would hear approaching, conversing from a distance, shouted snippets of conversations that grew louder and then died away as they disappeared out of earshot down the otherwise empty road. What pleasure they must have had, kings and queens of the road for those six short weeks. No buses, trucks, white vans or cars to compete with; no queues of traffic building up behind them on the narrow bends. Just the sunshine, and the dry tarmac stretching ahead of them, and the peace and quiet of the lockdown highway.
Sometimes we’d see parents riding by with their small children, which was a particularly heart-warming sight. Cycling along the A591 with youngsters is not usually something to be recommended, and it was wonderful to see so many people making the most of this rare opportunity.
The national press confirmed the huge upsurge in cycling during the lockdown, with sales at Christmas levels across the country, and many small retailers selling their entire stock in a matter of weeks. Not only were furloughed staff and retirees taking to the roads for their daily exercise, but people in towns were using bikes as a way of avoiding public transport. It was reported that Halfords shares rose by 17%, while bicycle sales doubled, and sales of cycling equipment increased by 500%.
Gill
Sadly, now that the lockdown is easing, the pleasant whir of cycle wheels has been replaced by the roar and explosive backfiring of their mechanised counterparts. And our garden, which, for that brief period, became such a peaceful haven, is once again subject to the continuous drone and noxious fumes of the ‘infernal’ combustion engine. Like our garden birds, the cyclists have reverted to early morning and late evening as the optimal times to emerge, so that they can enjoy again something of the pleasures of the open road.